Our apple empanadas are light, flakey pastries filled with a sweet apple filling and finished with a drizzle of caramel sauce and a sprinkle of flaky sea salt. They are the perfect fall treat!
We used puff pastry which makes these dessert empanadas super easy to make. This recipe also works with homemade pie crust (or even the store-bought kind). And if you want to make them gluten-free, you can purchase gluten free puff pastry or make our gluten-free pie crust.
Apple pie empanadas are best served warm, straight out of the oven. But they are also pretty darn good at room temperature.
The caramel sauce and sea salt are optional but highly recommended. It takes these little hand pies from good to great!
Here is Why This Recipe Works
- Using puff pastry makes the crust light and flaky and saves time if you don’t want to make your own pie crust.
- The recipe is easy to adapt to homemade pie crust.
- Cinnamon and cloves compliment the sweet apples, and the caramel glaze adds the perfect finishing touch.
- Large sea salt flakes balance out the sweetness and create a beautiful salty contrast.
- These apple pie empanadas are easy to make and can be easily customized. Try adding chopped walnuts or bits of crystalized ginger for a unique twist.
The Ingredients
Here is a list of the ingredients you will need for our apple empanadas recipe. Scroll down to the printable recipe card for all the details.
- Apples. Braeburn, Granny Smith, Golden Delicious, and Honey Crisp are all excellent choices for apple pie filling.
- Lemon juice. The lemon juice helps prevent the apples from browning and gives the apple pie filling a hint of acid.
- Granulated sugar.
- Spices. We used cinnamon and cloves. You can also use a pinch of nutmeg or apple pie spice.
- Salt.
- Cornstarch. This is used to thicken the apple pie filling.
- Frozen puff pastry. Thaw the pastry out in the fridge and keep it covered until you are ready to work with it.
- All-purpose flour. We used this for rolling the pastry. Use gluten-free flour if you need to keep the apple empanadas gluten-free.
- Egg white. Make and egg wash by whisking it with a splash of water.
- Caramel sauce. You can use homemade caramel sauce or purchase a jar.
- Maldon sea salt. Large flakes of finishing salt compliment the sweetness of these apple pie empanadas so well. If you don’t have finishing salt skip this step.
How to Make This Apple Empanadas Recipe
Here is a brief overview to get an idea of what to expect with the recipe. Scroll down to the printable recipe card for all the details.
Combine the apples, spices, sugar, and lemon juice in a skillet.
Cook the apple mixture until the apples are tender.
Roll the pastry out and cut circles out of the dough.
Place some apple mixture in a round pastry disk. Leave 1/2 inch border and brush the edges with egg wash.
Fold the pastry over the filling and crimp the edges closed.
Brush the tops with egg wash and make some small slits in the top. Bake until golden brown.
✅ Substitutions and Variations
- Nuts: Add brown sugar candied walnuts, toasted almonds, or candied pecans to the filling.
- Dried fruit: Add cranberries, raisins, toasted coconut, or diced dried figs.
- Sharp cheddar: For a sweet and savory flavor, add 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese.
- Mix the fruit up: Swap out half of the apples for a different fruit like pears, cherries, blackberries, or raspberries.
Tips for Success
- Make sure the apple pie filling is cold when you spoon it into the puff pastry. Warm filling will make the pastry too soft to work with.
- You can make the filling several days in advance.
- Place the filling slightly off center on the lower portion of the pastry circle. Don’t let it get too close to the edge or it will bubble out of the pastry when it cooks.
- Crimp the edges to seal the filling inside. We used a fork.
- For caramel apple empanadas, drizzle some caramel sauce over the filling before you seal the empanadas.
- You can replace some of the granulated sugar with brown sugar to give the apple empanadas a hint of molasses flavor.
- We used 6-inch pastry cutters, but 4-inch or 5-inch pastry cutters make nice-sized empanadas as well.
- If you don’t have pastry cutters, turn a small bowl upside down and use a sharp knife to cut around the perimeter of the bowl.
Frequently Asked Questions
An empanada is a type of individual hand pie that is filled with a sweet or savory filling. They are typically served warm but can also be eaten at room temperature. These sweet empanadas are like mini apple pies.
Traditional empanada dough is similar to pie crust but not as flaky. Our apple empanadas recipe uses a flaky puff pastry but if you want a more traditional pastry, you can use the homemade empanada dough in our mini empanadas recipe.
You can make them either way. Our recipe is for baked apple empanadas, which is much quicker and easier than frying.
You don’t have to peel the apples, but the filling will be smoother if you peel them first.
Our apple pie empanadas are the perfect sweet treat for a fall party or potluck and they taste better than the little hand pies at Taco Bell. You will love how easy they are to make with puff pastry but you can use pie dough if you like.
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Some Other Recipes We Are Sure You Will Love:
Our caramel apple pie is the perfect way to enjoy the fall flavors. Our pie is made with a flaky crust and filled with a sweet caramel apple filling. It is the perfect dessert for any meal.
This apple skillet cake is tender and moist, with a lightly spiced flavor that compliments the delicious sweet apples. Serve it with whipped cream or ice cream.
You will love our Dutch apple pie. A touch of cream makes the filling rich and decadent, and the streusel topping is sweet and crunchy.
Unsweetened applesauce is easy to make and you can use it in baked goods like muffins and apple cake.
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Apple Empanadas
Ingredients
- 6 apples peeled, cored, and diced into 1/2-inch pieces
- 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 cup 200 grams granulated sugar, divided
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 packages 17 oz. each frozen puff pastry, thawed
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour for rolling the pastry
- 1 egg white whisked with 2 tablespoons cold water
- Maldon sea salt optional
- ½ cup caramel sauce optional
Instructions
Make the Apple Pie Filling
- Add the diced apples to a large saucepan set over medium heat. Drizzle the lemon juice over the apples. Add 3/4 cup of the sugar, then the cinnamon, cloves, and salt. Toss with the apples and cook, occasionally stirring, until the sugar dissolves and the apples release their juices, about 5-7 minutes.
- In a small dish, combine the cornstarch and the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar, then stir it into the apples. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook until the apples are tender but still slightly firm when pierced with the tip of a paring knife, about 10 minutes.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat and transfer the apple mixture to a bowl. Place it in the refrigerator until cold. (It is important that the filling has time to get cold before you fill the empanadas).
Prepare the Pastry
- Place a thawed sheet of puff pastry on a floured work surface. Roll the pastry into a 10×10 inch square.
- Cut two 6-inch circles of pastry (if you don't have a circle pastry cutter, you can place a small bowl upside down on the pastry and use a knife to cut around the perimeter).
- Place the circles on a parchment-lined plate with parchment between each circle. Transfer the plate to the refrigerator to keep the puff pastry chilled.
- Repeat the process with the remaining sheets of puff pastry. You should have eight circles in total.
Assembling the empanadas:
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Transfer the chilled apple filling from the refrigerator and set it next to the apple pie filling. - Working with two pastry circles at a time, place them on the floured work surface and brush with the egg wash. Spoon 3 tablespoons of apple mixture on the pastry circles, slightly off-center.
- Pull the upper portion of pastry over the filling and pinch the edges together to seal them.
- Place the filled pastries on the baking sheet. Repeat the process until you fill all of the apple pie empanadas.
- Chill the pastries for 15-20 minutes.
Bake the Apple Empanadas
- Preheat the oven to 425°F
- Remove the chilled empanadas from the refrigerator and brush each one with the egg wash. Use a sharp knife to cut small slits in the tops of the empanadas.
- Transfer to the oven and bake until the empanadas are golden brown, about 20-23 minutes, turning the sheet pan halfway through the baking time.
- Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire cooling rack.
- Serve when still warm.
- Serving suggestions: A drizzle of caramel sauce and a sprinkle of Maldon salt, vanilla ice cream, a dollop of whip cream, or sweetened sour cream.
Notes
- The partially cooked apples must be cold when you spoon them onto the puff pastry rounds. A warm filling will make the pastry too soft to work with.
- You can make the apple pie filling several days in advance and store it in an airtight container.
- Place the filling slightly off center on the lower portion of the pastry circle and fold the upper portion up and over the filling.
- Crimp the edges to seal the filling inside, pinch, twist or use a fork to create your own edge design.
- There will be pastry scraps left over that you can wrap in parchment paper and seal in a plastic bag, then freeze for a later use.
- If you use a smaller, 4-inch circle cutter, you will be able to use almost all of the puff pastry.
John/Kitchen Riffs
Wednesday 7th of October 2015
I'm just back from vacation, and what a wonderful treat you've made for me! Apples and ginger combine so well, don't they? And I just happen to have some puff pastry dough in the freezer. ;-) This looks terrific -- thanks.
Pat
Wednesday 7th of October 2015
Hey, John! Hope you had a wonderful vacation....thanks for the comments, this is a great treat and you will love the apple-ginger combination.